Megan FoxSep 1, 2023

I'm finding ways to enjoy Starfield but

this is gonna get torn apart hahahahahah

Outer Worlds was um, better. It looked better too. This is higher polish, but looks, worse? It's so odd.

Try turning upscaling off for a trip. The game looks WORSE at full res. The FSR2 blurry mess makes their assets look more cohesive than they are, your brain takes it as ground/contact shadow.

Show threadMegan FoxSep 1, 2023

Had a think, and the stuff in Starfield I'm reacting negatively to is almost entirely stuff that mods fixed in previous games. It's just been ages since I played one of these de-modded.

"Huh, these environments look like someone just kitbashed random plants down, and they don't even change when you harvest": mod-fixed

"Huh, the way they did fast travel completely undercuts any sense of adventure": mod-fixed

"Huh, this UI is catastrophically poorly put together": mod-fixed

"Huh, the way they've chosen to further limit armor/gear options really undercuts what choices you can actually make": mod-fixed

"Huh, this is all just random loot that doesn't seem well thought out, which gives everything this vague sense of being proc-gen": mod-fixed

Never play a naked Bethesda game. This is no exception. Heh. Whatever, I'm still having fun, and good news, this feels EXACTLY like their Skyrim engine++, meaning all the mod tools should still work and be as powerful as they were before.

Show threadVelinionSep 1, 2023
@glassbottommeg
I was thinking this as I was playing. I think the key to their success is 1) Best in class mod support. 2) Getting the game _just_ good enough to hit "Whatever, I'm still having fun" so that the mod makers keep playing long enough to where the rough edges inspire the kind of "must... Fix... Now...." That'll result in the 10s to 1000s of hours of work it takes to fix things.
But Deer God 🦌😇, that some of the UI choices made it past playtesting is mind boggling.
Show threadMegan Fox
@velinion seriously. The UI is bad enough that I'd not have shipped this myself. It would have annoyed me too bad just in testing.
Sep 1, 2023 at 9:39pmWeb
Show threadVelinionSep 1, 2023
@glassbottommeg
My favorite stupid little "wait what?!" moment: invert Y on the flight controls (like most people do when using a flight stick): the ship heading circle still behaves as if Y wasn't inverted, pointing the opposite way (on the vertical access) that you're ship if going. I'd be sure that one will be patched but... This was supposedly tested to extremes before launch. Not to mention the complete _lack_ of centering force or a dead zone of your flying with a mouse.
Show threadVelinionSep 1, 2023
@glassbottommeg
Also, it very unsurprisingly has accessibility issues: https://kotaku.com/starfield-release-review-accessibility-xbox-pc-steam-1850793327
I mean, I have no disabilities that affect computer use and the UI has accessibility issues for me, so probably the least surprising news of all.
It Looks Like Starfield Has Major Accessibility Problems

Content creator and accessibility consultant Steve Saylor points out a massive lack of accessibility in Bethesda’s latest RPG

Kotaku
Show threadMegan FoxSep 1, 2023

@velinion Yep. That's what had me shocked. So much about it is actively uncomfortable to look at, the text is uncomfortable to read, and

I don't even need glasses? I have the weakest possible prescription that I only use for working at the computer, don't even wear 'em outside / at the TV / anywhere else?

It's like, WOOF.